Scallop Piccata

September 22, 2009 by 26 Comments
Piccata is such a simple sauce that comes together quickly but produces extraordinary results. No need to wait until you visit your favorite Italian restaurant to order up this classic, you can easily make it at home!
The word piccata is translated to mean, tasty, savory, spicy and piquant, and that is so true because of the key ingredients of lemon, parsley and capers.
I’ve always made the classic piccata with chicken, and recently have come to love it with tilapia, but now my new favorite way is with scallops! Thanks goes to my friend Ciao Chow Linda, for giving me the inspiration! I can’t believe I never made it with scallops before! It’s all such a perfect pairing, if you haven’t tried this yet, please do.

Hop on over to her delicious blog and check out her recipe, and pay close attention to searing your scallops, you’ll want to make sure you get some good color on them.
I served mine with a side of angel hair pasta and extended my sauce a little by adding 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
Hope I’ve inspired you to give this dish a try, it was wonderful!

Buon Appetito!

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26 Comments Filed Under: Seafood Tagged: , ,

Pears with Gorgonzola

September 15, 2009 by 30 Comments

Autumn fruits are everywhere and pears are definitely in season. I’m certain you’re going to love this recipe if you’re a Gorgonzola fan. Pears with Gorgonzola, it’s such a perfect paring! (no pun intended). Ripe juicy pears, cooked in Marsala wine that reduces down and becomes infused in a wonderful glaze. Each pear is then topped with a combination of Gorgonzola, mascarpone and toasted chopped walnuts.

I love the deep rich salty flavor of Gorgonzola and the “bite” it gives you from it’s blue vein. Combine that with the sweetness of the pear and Marsala. Perfection!

This recipe comes from an old issue of Tastes of Italia magazine, the recipe is for 4 servings but you can alter it for 2.
4 Pears cut in half lengthwise, remove cores.
2 Cups Marsala Wine
2T Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Sugar
2t. lemon Zest
4oz Gorgonzola
3 T Mascarpone
2T Toasted Chopped Walnuts
In medium pan combine wine, sugar, zest. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Add pears and cook 10-15 minutes until fork tender. Remove pears, place on serving dish. Bring wine mixture to a boil, cook for 6 minutes until liquid thickens. Remove, let it cool and drizzle around pears. In a small bowl add mascarpone, Gorgonzola, and chopped walnuts, mix well then fill pears.

Here’s another way of getting that same flavor combination of pears and Gorgonzola, something that you could put together fast for either a quick appetizer or an ending to a meal. Peel your pears and cut them into 1 inch chunks, cook them in warm honey until tender, then skewer a piece of Gorgonzola between 2 pieces of pear, finish with an extra drizzle of honey. Enjoy!
Buon Appetito!

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30 Comments Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit Tagged: , , ,

Dinner for Two with an Italian Turkey Meatloaf

September 11, 2009 by 35 Comments


I brought this little care package over to the new parents the other day, a little comfort food to nourish them from lack of sleep, besides, it was great excuse for seeing my sweet little Granddaughter again!

I used ground turkey for this meatloaf, but you can certainly substitute ground beef. For 2lbs of turkey I used 2 eggs, a nice handful of grated romano cheese, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 of a chopped onion, 1/2 cup of grated carrot, 1 T. of basil pesto, 1/4 cup of white wine, 1/2 cup of diced fire roasted tomatoes, (drained of juice) panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of small diced provolone or fontinella cheese, salt and pepper.

I baked 2 individual casseroles for my son and DIL and even had enough for me and the hubby for our dinner. Bake at 375F for about 1 1/2 hours or when thermometer reaches correct temperature. The sauce on top was a quick roasted red pepper sauce made by blending in a food processor, leftover roasted peppers, a small amount of marinara and a clove of garlic. If you haven’t tried a meatloaf with turkey yet you really should it’s so good!

I’m still getting some zucchini from my garden so I made this and it was delicious! Zucchini layered with roasted tomatoes, basil, panko breadcrumbs, and feta.


I’ve been seeing these square cut potatoes all over in the blogosphere, they’re called potato dominoes, check out Steamy Kitchen for a great step by step on how to make these. For mine, I decided to add a sweet potato along with the baking potato for a different twist, olive oil instead of butter, fresh snipped rosemary, salt and pepper. I will be making these again after I perfect my mandoline skills!

Enjoy your weekend, and Buon Appetito!

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35 Comments Filed Under: Poultry, Side Dishes Tagged: , ,